Philomath High School will bring in a new head volleyball coach for next season with the recent resignation of Autumn Hilberg. Hilberg led the program for the past two seasons and compiled a 30-18 overall record with two appearances in the Class 4A playoffs.
“As my children grow, their needs require me to be more present,” Hilberg said when asked why she decided to move on. “Family will remain my priority and I will continue to cheer on Philomath from the stands.”
Hilberg informed PHS of her decision to resign two weeks ago.
In Hilberg’s first season, Philomath went 16-9 overall and finished in third place in the Oregon West Conference at 6-4. The Warriors defeated Cottage Grove in straight sets in a play-in match and then in the opening round of the 4A playoffs, lost at Baker. Last season, the Warriors finished second in the conference with an 8-2 record in the league, 14-9 overall. The team earned an automatic bid into the state playoffs but the season ended at Crook County.
Asked for what she considered highlights of her time with the program, Hilberg said “making the playoffs and the relationships that were built.”
Philomath represented the first high school varsity coaching experience for Hilberg. At the time she came on board, her background included eight years of coaching at the club level.
“Volleyball is the same game,” she said when asked if there were any differences with coaching the sport at the high school or club levels. “It’s fun to coach with all the school spirit and support of the community. There is a lot more time commitment with high school compared to club.”
Hilberg said she will continue working at G3 Sports and Fitness in Corvallis in the club volleyball system. She is also heading back to school this fall to pursue a nursing degree.
The school district is currently accepting applications for the job.
Local wrestler qualifies for Pan Am Games
Local wrestler Olivia Hernandez won a second straight national championship in her division at the U.S. Marine Corps Women’s National Championship tournament April 12-14 in Spokane, Washington. In addition, she qualified as a Team USA representative for this summer’s Pan-American Championships.
Hernandez competed in the 14-and-under division’s 84-pound weight class in the national championship tournament and she was one of only five repeat champions from the previous year across four divisions.
The tournament also served as a qualifier for the Pan-American Championships, scheduled for June 13-15, in El Salvador. Hernandez, competing in the U15 division’s 39-kg weight class, defeated Daphney Gomez, an Arizona wrestler, two matches to none in a best-of-three series.
Baseball’s double-digit win streak
The Philomath High baseball team’s winning streak hit 11 games with Monday’s 4-1 win over Cascade. The Warriors will try to make it 12 in a row with a game at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday over on the Cougars’ field.
The streak of success is Philomath High’s longest over the past decade.
The Warriors won eight straight toward the end of the 2022 season — the team’s final five league games, a nonconference victory and then two straight in the 4A playoffs. There were three one-run wins along the way — 2-1 and 5-4 over Stayton on back-to-back days and later on, a 2-1 win over Banks in the 4A quarterfinals. The team lost in the semifinals against the eventual state champion, La Grande.
Going back further, the team had an eight-game win streak in 2017 that started in late March went well into April. Close calls included wins of 10-8 (vs. Gladstone), 9-8 and 6-4 (vs. Newport) and 6-4 vs. North Marion. West Albany, a playoff-bound 5A team, ended the run in a Saturday game, 2-1. The Warriors then reeled off five more wins in a row to make it 13 of 14. Philomath went on to win the league title and finished 20-7 overall while reaching the 4A semifinals. The Warriors lost to Henley, which finished state runner-up with a loss to La Grande in the finals.
Another eight-game win streak occurred in 2014 but one of those involved a forfeit. Three of the wins during the three-week stretch in May were by a single run — 4-3 over Central, 12-11 over Taft and 5-4 over Astoria in the first round of the playoffs. Philomath lost in the quarterfinals to Henley, the eventual state champion, and finished 16-10 overall.
(Brad Fuqua is publisher/editor of the Philomath News. He can be reached at News@PhilomathNews.com).
